tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:/xml/oil1oil news from mongabay.com2015-03-30T18:30:40Ztag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/145582015-03-30T18:16:00Z2015-03-30T18:30:40Z9 months after Amazonian oil pipeline spill, effects and fears linger<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/15/0330cuninco150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>When Peru's state-run oil company pulled out of this small Kukama Indian village in mid-December after cleaning up an oil pipeline spill, residents thought life could slowly return to normal. But more than three months later, wisps of oil floating down the Cuninico River—along with a larger spill in the neighboring community of San Pedro—are a reminder that the problems are not over.Rhett Butler-4.801399-75.216092tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/145302015-03-24T21:11:00Z2015-03-25T01:04:20ZPhotos: expedition to Amazon’s white sands may have found new primate<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/15/0324.thumbnail.photo-8A.by-giussepe-gagliardi-urrutia.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Most people think of the Amazon rainforest as one massive, homogenous ecosystem&#8212;a giant castle of green. However, within the Amazon rainforest lie a myriad of distinct ecosystems, sporting unique characteristics and harboring endemic species. One of the rarer ecosystems in the Amazon is the white sands forest.Jeremy Hance-6.343298-74.026909tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/145122015-03-19T17:42:00Z2015-03-19T17:46:26ZDRC mulls changing Virunga's boundaries for oilLast Friday, the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced it was considering changing the boundaries of Virunga National Park to accommodate oil exploitation. Africa's oldest park, Virunga is home to around a quarter of the world's mountain gorillas as well as thousands of other species, many of them threatened with extinction. Jeremy Hance-0.30368729.568020tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/143902015-02-17T23:38:00Z2015-03-16T23:28:25ZIndonesia to squander fuel savings on biofuel subsidies that may drive deforestation, say groups<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay.s3.amazonaws.com/africa/150/congo_0021.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Instead of wisely investing the windfall generated by cutting petrol subsidies, Indonesia is poised to squander funds by increasing subsidies for biofuel production that could exacerbate social conflict and drive deforestation, warn environmental groups.Rhett Butler-1.639488103.493185tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/143832015-02-16T17:22:00Z2015-02-26T19:41:53ZArctic upheaval: new book outlines challenges at the top of the world<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/15/0215.arctic.9781610914406_FutureArctic-Struzik.thumb.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>For most of us, the Arctic is not at the front of our minds. We view it as cold, stark, and, most importantly, distant. Yet, even in an age of vast ecological upheaval, one could argue that no biome in the world is changing so rapidly or so irrevocably. Two hundred plus years of burning fossil fuels has warmed up the top of our planet more quickly than anywhere else. Jeremy Hance81.303675-82.900239tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/143632015-02-09T17:26:00Z2015-02-20T15:10:29ZNorway sovereign fund drops coal, tar sands, gold-mining companiesIn its first-ever report on responsible investing, Norway's pension fund announced last week that it has divested from 114 companies in the past three years due to concerns over global warming, deforestation, and sustainability as well as long-term financial viability. Worth a staggering $861 billion, Norway's Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) is the world's largest sovereign wealth fund.Jeremy Hance59.912277 10.764517tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/143412015-02-04T17:50:00Z2015-02-06T15:10:31ZThe Amazon's oil boom: concessions cover a Chile-sized bloc of rainforest <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/jlh/ecuador/Yasuni.150/Yasuni_303.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Hungry for oil revenue, governments and fossil fuel companies are moving even further into one of the world's last great wildernesses, according to a new study in the journal Environmental Research Letters. The total area set aside for oil and gas in the Western Amazon has grown by 150,000 square kilometers since 2008, now totaling more than 730,000 square kilometers&#8212;an area the size of Chile. Jeremy Hance-14.057138-68.658039tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/142682015-01-15T23:07:00Z2015-01-16T03:17:18ZAmazon tribe attacks oilfield in EcuadorIndigenous leaders are calling for the release of six tribesmen implicated in a raid on an oilfield in Eastern Ecuador that left six soldiers injured, reports <i>Andina</i> and <i>El Comercio</i>. Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/141932014-12-23T22:52:00Z2014-12-23T22:52:35ZEcuador sends aid money back to Germany over planned rainforest visitA visit to a rainforest slated for oil drilling has blown up into a diplomatic row between Ecuador and Germany. Ecuador has said it will no longer partner with Germany on environmental issues and will return aid money, after the South American government discovered that German legislators were attempting to visit the much-embattled Yasuni National Park. Jeremy Hance-1.198430-75.591814tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/141882014-12-23T16:23:00Z2015-01-21T20:13:49ZTop 10 Environmental Stories of 2014<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/sabah/150/sabah_2297.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>In 2014, the unimaginable happened: companies representing the majority of palm oil production and trade agreed to stop cutting down rainforests and draining peatlands for new oil palm plantations. After years of intense campaigning by environmentalists and dire warnings from scientists, nearly two dozen major producers, traders, and buyers established zero deforestation policies.Jeremy Hance-2.391216-64.166830tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/141552014-12-15T18:17:00Z2015-01-21T20:14:26ZChildren 'clean' oil spill with kitchen utensils in the Sundarbans<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/14/1214.oilspill.sundarbans.4.150jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>On December 9th, a tanker slammed into another vessel along the Shela River in the world's largest mangrove forest: the Sundarbans in Bangladesh. The tanker sank, spilling an estimated 75,000 gallons (350,000 liters) of fuel oil into waterways that are a part of a reserve for threatened Ganges river dolphins and Irrawaddy dolphins. Jeremy Hance22.14377589.702728tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/141472014-12-12T17:57:00Z2014-12-12T18:25:19ZIndigenous communities 'among the very few best protectors' of Peruvian Amazon<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/14/1212-thumb-herps_cnh_0269.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>A new report examines the effects of timber harvesting, gold mining, agriculture, and oil and natural gas drilling that have been on the rise recently in the Peruvian Amazon, and states that ensuring indigenous land rights is a key tool in the fight to protect it.Morgan Erickson-Davis-4.191016-73.965620tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/141312014-12-09T18:19:00Z2015-02-06T15:07:30ZRelief for Kenya’s rare coastal forest<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/14/1209-thumb-Rhynchocyon_chrysopygus-J_Smit.jpeg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>In October this year, CAMAC Energy, an oil and gas exploration and production company, announced that they would conduct seismic surveys for oil and gas within Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, one of the last remaining fragments of coastal forests in East Africa. But following immense pressure from the environmental front, CAMAC Energy cancelled their plans to conduct surveys inside the forest. Morgan Erickson-Davis-3.33215539.847937tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/141222014-12-05T17:51:00Z2015-02-06T15:11:26ZHow an indigenous community in Ecuador stood up to big oil - and won<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/14/1205-thumb-Gualinga.png" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The Sarayaku, a Kichwa indigenous people numbering 1,200 from the Ecuadorian Amazon, won a historic court case in 2012. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the government of Ecuador must publicly apologize, consult with, and recompense the Sarayaku for allowing oil exploration by Argentine Compañia General de Combustibles on their territory without prior consultationMorgan Erickson-Davis-1.867031-78.073814tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/141152014-12-04T21:26:00Z2014-12-30T22:26:03ZGiant stone face unveiled in the Amazon rainforest (video)<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/14/1204.stoneface.1.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>A new short film documents the journey of an indigenous tribe hiking deep into their territory in the Peruvian Amazon to encounter a mysterious stone countenance that was allegedly carved by ancient peoples. According to Handcrafted Films, which produced the documentary entitled The Reunion, this was the first time the Rostro Harakbut has been filmed. Jeremy Hance-12.820287-71.013726tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/139992014-11-10T21:43:00Z2014-11-11T01:35:05ZPeru has massive opportunity to avoid emissions from deforestation<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/14/1110carbon-zoom-amazon-mainstem150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Nearly a billion tons of carbon in Peru's rainforests is at risk from logging, infrastructure projects, and oil and gas extraction, yet opportunities remain to conserve massive amounts of forest in indigenous territories, parks, and unprotected areas, finds a study published this week in <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</i> (PNAS).Rhett Butler-5.298827-76.268806tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/138982014-10-09T23:46:00Z2014-10-10T00:00:57ZGreenpeace sinks Lego's $116 million deal with Shell Oil over Arctic drilling<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/14/lego.shell.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Lego has announced it will be severing its partnership with the oil giant, Shell, when the current contract expires after a clever campaign by environmental activist group, Greenpeace. Since 2011, Lego has been selling exclusive sets at Shell stations, but the companies' relationship actually goes back decades. In 1966, the Danish toy company first began selling Lego sets with Shell's brand stamped on them. Jeremy Hance69.683832-167.361441tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/138322014-09-24T20:56:00Z2014-11-06T17:52:52ZTurning point for Peru's forests? Norway and Germany put muscle and money behind ambitious agreement<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/peru/150/manu_0728.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>From the Andes to the Amazon, Peru houses some of the world's most spectacular forests. Proud and culturally-diverse indigenous tribes inhabit the interiors of the Peruvian Amazon, including some that have chosen little contact with the outside world. And even as scientists have identified tens-of-thousands of species that make their homes from the leaf litter to the canopy.Jeremy Hance-13.256860-68.993973tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/138162014-09-22T21:52:00Z2014-09-22T22:06:08ZClimate coup: Rockefeller announces they are dropping fossil fuel investmentsIn 1870, John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company. Rapidly becoming the world's largest oil refiner, Standard made Rockefeller a billionaire and one of the world's greatest philanthropists. 144 years later and John D. Rockefeller's descendants have announced they are stripping fossil fuels from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a private charity with around $860 million in assets.Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/137302014-08-29T18:51:00Z2014-11-06T17:48:52ZMore trouble with tar sands: oil extraction leading to big forest loss in Alberta<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/14/0829-tar-sands-op-thumb.jpeg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Tar sands operations have been the subject of much controversy over the past few years as expected economic gains for Canada the may come at the cost of environmental damage from the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and increased greenhouse gas emissions. Now another negative impact has come to light - deforestation of the boreal forest overlying the oil deposits.Morgan Erickson-Davis57.694984-111.396673tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/136012014-07-29T19:25:00Z2014-07-29T19:32:15ZPeruvian oil spill sparks concern in indigenous rainforest communityA ruptured pipeline that spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Marañón River in late June is fueling concerns about potential health impacts for a small indigenous community.Rhett Butler-4.81667-75.16667tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/135992014-07-29T18:34:00Z2014-11-06T17:43:09ZDeforestation ramping up in Yasuni as Ecuador sets to open up national park to drilling<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/14/0729-yasuniroad-thumb.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Yasuni National park has been in the conservation spotlight in recent years, with oil drilling threatening the forests and wildlife of this biodiversity hotspot. Recently, disturbance in the park may have ramped up, with satellite data showing a significant increase in deforestation alerts within Yasuni National Park since 2011.Morgan Erickson-Davis-1.100887-75.807128tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/135762014-07-23T19:14:00Z2014-07-29T19:41:54ZPeru slashes environmental protections to attract more mining and fossil fuel investment<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/peru/150/peru_aerial_0166.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>In an effort to kickstart investment in mining and fossil fuels, Peru has passed a controversial law that overturns many of its environmental protections and essentially defangs its Ministry of Environment. The new law has environmentalists not only concerned about its impact on the country but also that the measures will undermine progress at the up-coming UN Climate Summit in December. Jeremy Hance-13.018651-70.498686tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/134992014-07-07T17:55:00Z2014-07-07T18:23:24ZOil, wildlife, and people: competing visions of development collide in Virunga National Park<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/14/0707_virunga_150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>What does SOCO's withdrawal really mean for the future of Virunga National Park? - Part II. Located in the eastern DRC, Virunga is the first national park created in Africa, a World Heritage Site and home to mountain gorillas, of which fewer than 900 remain. As such, SOCO's announcement to suspend activities followed in the wake of a concerted campaign led by WWF to "draw the line" to save Virunga from devastation by prospective oil drilling.Tiffany Roufs-0.06509029.510771tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/133992014-06-17T18:18:00Z2014-12-30T22:42:43ZCamera trap captures first ever video of rarely-seen bird in the Amazon...and much more<table align="left"><tr><td><img src=" http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/14/1107.Mosquera--Nocturnal-curassow.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>A camera trap program in Ecuador's embattled Yasuni National Program has struck gold, taking what researchers believe is the first ever film of a wild nocturnal curassow (Nothocrax urumutum). In addition, the program has captured video of other rarely-seen animals, including the short-eared dog and the giant armadillo. Jeremy Hance-0.637516-76.148906tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/133982014-06-17T15:38:00Z2014-06-17T16:11:23ZWhat does SOCO's withdrawal really mean for the future of Virunga National Park?<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/14/0617_virunga_150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Recent headlines have touted an agreement between SOCO International, a British oil company, and WWF, as bringing about an end to oil exploration in Virunga National Park. For example: Oil company Soco not to drill in Virunga World Heritage Site, Deal aims to ban drilling in gorilla preserve, and Soco halts oil exploration in Africa's Virunga national park. However, the same news banners flew in 2011, and oil exploration returned.Tiffany Roufs-0.06498329.510750tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/133812014-06-13T18:11:00Z2014-06-13T21:46:38ZOil drilling causes widespread contamination in the Amazon rainforestDecades of oil extraction in the Western Amazon has caused widespread pollution, raising questions about the impact of a new oil boom in the region, according to a team of Spanish researchers presenting at a conference in California.Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/133772014-06-13T17:13:00Z2014-06-13T17:26:46ZExtractive industries and apes<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay.s3.amazonaws.com/indonesia/150/kalteng_0909.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Current thinking in the private and public sectors asserts that economic development needs are in conflict with, or mutually exclusive of, the need to conserve the biosphere on which we depend. So, we are asked either to reduce development in the name of conservation or to reduce conservation in the name of development.Tiffany Roufstag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/133762014-06-12T22:30:00Z2014-12-30T22:42:35ZWhat's an environmental journalist to do with so much good news?<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/14/0612.800px-Virunga_National_Park_Gorilla.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>As an environmental journalist covering stories from the great Arctic ice melt to the rhino poaching crisis in Africa, you'll forgive me if sometimes in the morning&#8212;before I turn my computer on&#8212;I have a sudden desire to spend a few extra minutes in bed or have a leisurely breakfast with my daughter or just sit in the back yard with a cup of tea and a good book. Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/133702014-06-11T16:54:00Z2014-06-11T17:02:23ZOil overthrow: Soco to suspend operations in Virunga National Park after sustained campaign by WWF<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/14/0611.Rugendo_in_bukima.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>In a surprise announcement, British oil company Soco International has said it will suspend exploratory operations in Virunga National Park, home to half the world's Critically Endangered mountain gorillas as well as thousands of other species. The announcement follows several years of campaigning from conservation groups led by WWF. Jeremy Hance-0.17664829.550871tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/133452014-06-05T13:04:00Z2014-06-08T22:34:58ZOil company breaks agreement, builds big roads in Yasuni rainforest<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/14/1112-5_Karla.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>When the Ecuadorian government approved permits for an oil company to drill deep in Yasuni National Park, it was on the condition that the company undertake a roadless design with helicopters doing most of the leg-work. However, a new report based on high-resolution satellite imagery has uncovered that the company, Petroamazonas, has flouted the agreement's conditions, building a massive access road.Jeremy Hance-0.942388-75.716907tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/133262014-06-02T16:40:00Z2014-06-02T16:54:29ZAfter throwing out referendum, Ecuador approves oil drilling in Yasuni's embattled heartBy 2016, oil drilling will begin in what scientists believe is the most biodiverse place on the planet: remote Yasuni National Park. Late last month, Ecuador announced it had approved permits for oil drilling in Yasuni's Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputinin (ITT) block, an untouched swathe of primary rainforest covering around 100,000 hectares or about 10 percent of the park.Jeremy Hance-1.088304-75.487242tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/131642014-05-01T19:40:00Z2014-05-01T19:57:59Z31 activists arrested attempting to stop Arctic oil from docking in EuropeDutch police arrested 31 Greenpeace activists today, who were attempting to block the Russian oil tanker, Mikhail Ulyanov, from delivering the first shipment of offshore Arctic oil to the European market. Jeremy Hance69.15526057.380491tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/131552014-04-30T16:33:00Z2014-04-30T16:40:22ZStolen information may derail Yasuni drilling referendum <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/14/0430-aracari-thumb.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Environmental activists in Ecuador are accusing the country’s National Electoral Council of breaking into sealed boxes to interfere with completed petitions that call for a referendum on oil drilling in the Amazonian region of Yasuní. The environmentalists had spent six months collecting signatures to oppose Rafael Correa’s plans to extract oil in the eastern portion of the country. Morgan Erickson-Davis-1.101015-75.808120tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/130862014-04-16T16:20:00Z2014-04-16T16:38:58ZEcuador will have referendum on fate of Yasuni after activists collect over 700,000 signaturesIn what is a major victory for environmentalists, campaigners with United for Yasuni have collected 727,947 signatures triggering a national referendum on whether or not oil drilling should proceed in three blocs of Yasuni National Park in Ecuador. Jeremy Hance-1.438883-76.068026tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/130232014-04-02T19:46:00Z2014-04-02T19:55:09ZFeatured video: celebrities speak out for Yasuni A group of celebrities, including recent Academy Award winner Jared Leto, <i>Law and Order</i>'s Benjamin Bratt, and <i>Kill Bill</i>'s Daryl Hannah, have lent their voices to a new Public Service Announcement to raise signatures to protect Ecuador's Yasuni National Park from oil drilling. Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/129592014-03-20T19:27:00Z2014-03-21T13:42:24ZOil or rainforest: new website highlights the plight of Yasuni National Park A new multimedia feature story by Brazilian environmental news group, ((o))eco, highlights the ongoing debate over Yasuni National Park in Ecuador, arguably the most biodiverse place on the planet.Jeremy Hance-1.425451-75.992689tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/129242014-03-13T15:56:00Z2014-03-13T16:05:18ZEurope votes for an Arctic Sanctuary Yesterday, the European Parliament passed a resolution supporting the creation of an Arctic Sanctuary covering the vast high Arctic around the North Pole, giving official status to an idea that has been pushed by activists for years. Still, the sanctuary has a long road to go before becoming a reality: as Arctic sea ice rapidly declines due to climate change, there has been rising interest from governments and industries to exploit the once inaccessible wilderness for fish and fossil fuels. Jeremy Hance82.452125 -173.416326tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/127732014-02-13T16:53:00Z2014-12-30T22:54:01ZFeatured video: camera traps catch jaguars, anteaters, and a sloth eating clay in the Amazon rainforestThese are sights that have rarely been seen by human eyes: a stealthy jaguar, a bustling giant armadillo, and, most amazingly, a sloth slurping up clay from the ground. A new compilation of camera trap videos from Yasuni National Park in the Ecuadorean Amazon shows a staggering array of species, many cryptic and rare. Jeremy Hance-0.636851-76.147327tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/127162014-02-03T17:25:00Z2014-02-03T17:40:50ZTotal says it will not drill in any World Heritage SitesOne of the world's largest oil and gas companies, Total, has committed to leave the planet's UNESCO World Heritage Sites untouched, according to the United Nations. The UN says the French energy giant has sent written confirmation that it will not explore or extract fossil fuels from any of the world's over 200 natural World Heritage Sites. Jeremy Hance-0.08171129.518147tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/127072014-01-30T13:06:00Z2014-01-30T13:15:30ZShell drops plans to drill in the Arctic for nowFacing plunging profits, Royal Dutch Shell has announced it will cut exploration and development funding by nearly $10 billion this year, including halting their long-suffering plans to drill in the Arctic ocean. Shell's new CEO, Ben van Beurden, made the announcement yesterday that controversial plans to drill off the Alaskan coast will be put on hold for another year. Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/126992014-01-29T13:28:00Z2014-01-29T14:27:38ZA series of oil spills sully Caribbean paradise, coating mangroves and wildlife (photos) <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/14/0129.tandt.IMG_0266.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>On December 17th, officials first discovered a massive oil spill in the Caribbean-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Since then, a series of oil spills have been discovered, coating beaches, sullying mangrove forests, and very likely decimating wildlife in Trinidad's Gulf of Paria. The oil spills have been linked to the state-owned oil company, Petrotrin, which has claimed that sabotage is behind at least two of the spills. However Trinidad and Tobago's Environmental Management Authority has recently slapped the company with a $3.1 million fine by for the damage, while some politicians have called for an independent investigation into the slew of spills. Jeremy Hance10.243641-61.620655tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/126312014-01-14T15:33:00Z2014-01-14T19:36:24ZHigh-living frogs hurt by remote oil roads in the Amazon<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/14/0114.0043595_imgp5387-edit.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Often touted as low-impact, remote oil roads in the Amazon are, in fact, having a large impact on frogs living in flowers in the upper canopy, according to a new paper published in PLOS ONE. In Ecuador's Yasuni National Park, massive bromeliads grow on tall tropical trees high in the canopy and may contain up to four liters of standing water. Lounging inside this micro-pools, researchers find a wide diversity of life, including various species of frogs. However, despite these frogs living as high as 50 meters above the forest floor, a new study finds that proximity to oil roads actually decreases the populations of high-living frogs. Jeremy Hance-1.124996-75.79196tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/125652013-12-23T14:17:00Z2015-02-12T00:03:21ZWorld first: Russia begins pumping oil from Arctic seabedOil has begun to be pumped from the Arctic seabed, according to Russian oil giant, Gazprom. The company announced on Friday that it has begun exploiting oil reserves at the offshore field of Prirazlomnoye. The project, which is several years behind schedule, is hugely controversial and made international headlines in September after Russian military arrested 28 Greenpeace activists protesting the operation along with a British journalist and Russian videographer. Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/125492013-12-19T23:57:00Z2014-02-20T19:14:57ZIndigenous groups win right to pursue Chevron assets in Canada in Amazon pollution caseIndigenous plaintiffs in a long-running legal dispute against Chevron won the right to pursue the oil giant's assets in Canada as part of a $9.5 billion judgement by an Ecuadorean court over damages in the Amazon, reports Amazon Watch.Rhett Butler0.074611-76.757917tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/125002013-12-10T16:38:00Z2013-12-10T17:06:59ZEcuador's government shuts down indigenous rights organization over oil battleLast Wednesday, the government of Ecuador shutdown the indigenous rights NGO, Fundación Pachamama, in Quito over the group's opposition to oil drilling in indigenous areas. More than a dozen government officials showed up at Pachamama's office with a resolution by the Ministry of Environment that officially dissolved the organization, the first such moved by the government which in June passed an Executive Decree that tightened governmental oversight of the country's NGOs.Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/124962013-12-10T14:09:00Z2014-12-28T19:57:48ZTop 10 Environmental Stories of 2013<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/south-africa/150/south_africa_kruger_1126.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>1. Carbon concentrations hit 400ppm while the IPCC sets global carbon budget: For the first time since our appearance on Earth, carbon concentrations in the atmosphere hit 400 parts per million. The last time concentrations were this high for a sustained period was 4-5 million years ago when temperatures were 10 degrees Celsius higher. Meanwhile, in the slow-moving effort to curb carbon emissions, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) crafted a global carbon budget showing that most of the world's fossil fuel reserves must be left untouched if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change. Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/124902013-12-05T18:14:00Z2015-02-11T23:59:10ZTop scientists propose ambitious plans to safeguard world from devastating climate change <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/13/kauai_1097.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Two degrees is too much: that's the conclusion of a landmark new paper by top economists and climatologists, including James Hansen formerly of NASA. The paper, appearing in the open-access journal PLoS ONE, argues that global society must aim for only one degree Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst impact of climate change, and not the two degrees Celsius agreed on by the world's governments. But given that the world's governments are not yet on track to even achieve the two degree target, how could we lock in just one? A combination of renewable energy, nuclear power, and, most importantly, a rising price on carbon emissions, according to the eighteen scientists. Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/124242013-11-20T23:16:00Z2013-11-20T23:26:42ZGulf of Mexico deep sea may need decades to recover from oil spill<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/13/1120image150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The catastrophic explosion that spewed some five million barrels of oil deep into the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 will take a heavy toll in the ocean’s lowest layers for years to come. That’s the stark conclusion of seafloor research conducted six months after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The study, published on August 7 in <i>PLoS ONE</i>, examined life in the Gulf’s deepest waters near the blowout, about 1.6 kilometers below the surface. Here, the researchers found that the damages will take decades to reverse. Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/123572013-11-13T06:45:00Z2014-02-20T19:19:50ZFlawed from inception? Ecuador’s Yasuní-ITT initiative threatened indigenous groups with simple mapping errors <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/13/1113-yasuni-map150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The plan from Ecuador’s government was simple: Pay us and we won’t destroy the planet's most extraordinary ecosystem. Dubbed the Yasuni-ITT initiative, the plan called upon developed nations to pay for protecting Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park from oil companies. Now, a recent study claims the plan was fraught with flaws as basic as drawing lines on a map. Rhett Butler-1.065269-75.736706tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/123582013-11-12T01:39:00Z2013-11-12T18:12:39ZExclusive: Stunning aerial photos reveal Ecuador building roads deeper into richest rainforest on Earth (Yasuní National Park)<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/13/1112-1_IVAN_150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>In August 2012, professional photographers Ivan Kashinsky and Karla Gachet were on assignment for National Geographic in Yasuní National Park, home to arguably the most biodiverse rainforest in the world. While there, they happened to take an aerial shoot above an area known as Block 31 (see Map), a controversial oil concession located in the heart of the park, at the precise moment that the national oil company, Petroamazonas, was secretly building a new oil access road.Rhett Butler-1.175455-75.709927tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/123242013-11-07T15:54:00Z2014-02-22T01:56:15ZCould camera trap videos galvanize the world to protect Yasuni from oil drilling?<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/13/1107.Mosquera-Jaguar.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Even ten years ago it would have been impossible to imagine: clear-as-day footage of a jaguar plodding through the impenetrable Amazon, or a bicolored-spined porcupine balancing on a branch, or a troop of spider monkeys feeding at a clay lick, or a band of little coatis racing one-by-one from the dense foliage. These are things that even researchers who have spent a lifetime in the Amazon may never see. Now anyone can: scientists at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Ecuador's Yasuní National Park have recently begun using camera trap videos to take movies of animals few will ever view in their lifetimes. The videos&#8212;following years of photo camera trapping&#8212;provide an intimate view of a world increasingly threatened by the oil industry. Jeremy Hance-0.638117-76.149784tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/122432013-10-24T13:37:00Z2013-10-24T13:42:24ZRussia charges imprisoned Greenpeace protestors with hooliganism, instead of piracyRussian investigators announced on Wednesday they are dropping piracy charges against 28 environmental activists and two freelance journalists who have spent a month in custody since they were seized aboard Greenpeace's boat, the Arctic Sunrise.Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/122122013-10-17T13:59:00Z2013-10-25T13:23:26ZMap reveals gas company flying over Manu National Park<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/13/1017.ANEXO3.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>A map in an internal Peruvian government report reveals that gas company Pluspetrol has been flying over the protected Manu National Park (MNP) in the south-eastern Peruvian Amazon where UNESCO says the biodiversity "exceeds that of any other place on earth."
The over-flight was done via helicopter on 3 February, 2012 by Pluspetrol personnel together with a team from the National Institute e Development of Andean, Amazonian and Afroperuvian Peoples (INDEPA). Jeremy Hance-12.068867-71.386871tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/121752013-10-08T13:45:00Z2013-10-08T13:55:22ZDivestment campaign could cause considerable damage to fossil fuel industryA campaign to persuade investors to take their money out of the fossil fuel sector is growing faster than any previous divestment campaign and could cause significant damage to coal, oil and gas companies, according to a study from the University of Oxford. The report compares the current fossil fuel divestment campaign, which has attracted 41 institutions since 2010, with those against tobacco, apartheid in South Africa, armaments, gambling and pornography. It concludes that the direct financial impact of such campaigns on share prices or the ability to raise funds is small but the reputational damage can still have major financial consequences.Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/121712013-10-07T13:39:00Z2013-10-07T13:52:43ZRussia charges non-violent activists with 'piracy' for protesting Arctic oil drillingIn what is being described by Greenpeace as an 'imaginary offense,' Russia has charged 30 people with piracy after activists protested against oil exploitation in the Arctic. The 30 charged included not only protestors, but a British journalist and Russian videographer who were on board Greenpeace's ship, the Arctic Sunrise, when it was stormed by the Russian military late last month. Jeremy Hance68.9445833.074112tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/121592013-10-03T15:13:00Z2014-02-22T01:57:19ZOver 100 scientists warn Ecuadorian Congress against oil development in Yasuni <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/jlh/ecuador/Yasuni.150/Yasuni_22.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Over 100 scientists have issued a statement to the Ecuadorian Congress warning that proposed oil development and accompanying roads in Yasuni National Park will degrade its "extraordinary biodiversity." The statement by a group dubbed the Scientists Concerned for Yasuni outlines in detail how the park is not only likely the most biodiverse ecosystems in the western hemisphere, but in the entire world. Despite this, the Ecuadorian government has recently given the go-ahead to plans to drill for oil in Yasuni's Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) blocs, one of most remote areas in the Amazon rainforest.Jeremy Hance-0.668091-76.026192tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/121342013-09-27T15:24:00Z2015-02-11T23:42:52ZForgotten species: the nearly extinct primate that can be shot on sight<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/13/0926.Ppepieni9.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The attention paid to charismatic popular primates&#8212;such as gorillas, chimps, orangutans, lion tamarins, and even some lemurs&#8212;could make one suppose that conservationists have the protection of our closest relatives well in hand; the astounding fact that no primate species is known to have gone extinct in the last hundred years (despite large-scale destruction of their habitats) seems to confirm this statement. However, looking more closely at the data, one finds that not only are many of the world's primates slipping toward extinction, but a number of them have received little conservation attention. According to the IUCN Red List, a staggering 48 percent of the world's primates are threatened with extinction: that's a worse percentage than amphibians which have been ravaged by a global epidemic. And although a handful of the world's 600-plus primates have garnered conservation adoration, many remain obscure. Jeremy Hance5.2263496.29631tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/121282013-09-25T18:01:00Z2013-09-26T14:19:24ZSonar used by oil company caused mass whale stranding in MadagascarAn oil company's use of a high-frequency mapping sonar system was responsible for a mass whale stranding in northwest Madagascar in 2008, finds a new report.Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/121072013-09-20T17:28:00Z2013-09-20T17:46:20ZRussian military raids Greenpeace ship, hold activists captiveArmed Russian military have stormed a Greenpeace ship protesting against oil exploitation in remote Arctic waters.
Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/120802013-09-16T18:37:00Z2013-09-18T13:42:49ZThe case against Ecuador’s claims of 'low-impact drilling' in Yasuní <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/13/0917Yasuni-Map_Finer-et-al150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa recently announced to the world that he was ending the 6-year initiative aimed at avoiding oil drilling in a critical piece of the Amazon, the ITT Block of Yasuní National Park. In the speech, and the accompanying Decree, the President emphasized that the exploitation will affect less than 1% of the park. In subsequent remarks, President Correa indicated that the impacted area would be less than 0.001%. Thus, the new government pitch: minimum impact, maximum reward. Here, we counter that impacts related to biodiversity, indigenous people in voluntary isolation, and climate change may be severe.Rhett Butler-1.142503-75.811585tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/120102013-09-04T02:48:00Z2013-09-05T12:46:05ZDeforestation surges as Ecuador kills Amazon protection planData released this week by Terra-i, a collaborative mapping initiative, shows that deforestation in Ecuador for the first three months of 2013 was pacing more than 300 percent ahead of last year's rate. The report comes shortly after Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa killed off a proposed plan to prohibit oil drilling in Yasuni National Park in exchange for payments equivalent to half the value of the park's unexploited oil.Rhett Butler-1.100647-75.806889tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/120062013-09-03T17:43:00Z2013-09-03T18:16:52ZChina punishes top oil companies for failing to clean up their actsChina's top two oil companies have been penalized for missing pollution targets, reports China Central Television (CCTV). The Ministry of Environmental Protection has suspended all refinery projects for China National Petroleum Corporation (CPNC) and the China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) until they meet their pollution targets. The move is a part of a wider crackdown on pollution across China, which has suffered from record air pollution. Jeremy Hance39.963438116.405411tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/119612013-08-26T16:41:00Z2013-08-26T17:01:55ZYasuni could still be spared oil drilling<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/jlh/ecuador/Yasuni.150/Yasuni_149.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>When Ecuadorean President, Rafael Correa, announced on August 15th that he was abandoning an innovative program to spare three blocs of Yasuni National Park from oil drilling, it seemed like the world had tossed away its most biodiverse ecosystem. However, environmental groups and activists quickly responded that there may be another way to keep oil companies out of Yasuni's Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) blocs: a national referendum. Jeremy Hance-1.183693-75.605621tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/119272013-08-16T17:10:00Z2013-08-23T13:34:06ZEcuador shelves big idea for saving the AmazonThe fate of the most biodiverse rainforest on Earth has been decided: it will be drilled for oil.Rhett Butler-1.142502-75.811586tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/119192013-08-15T16:29:00Z2013-08-15T16:39:48ZFracking sucks up all the water from Texas townBeverly McGuire saw the warning signs before the town well went dry: sand in the toilet bowl, the sputter of air in the tap, a pump working overtime to no effect. But it still did not prepare her for the night last month when she turned on the tap and discovered the tiny town where she had made her home for 35 years was out of water.Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/118002013-07-22T05:47:00Z2013-07-23T05:31:08ZDeforestation rate falls in Congo Basin countries<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/13/0722-africa-rainforest-map-150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Deforestation has fallen in Congo Basin countries over the past decade despite a sharp increase in the rate of forest clearing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a new study published in the <i>Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B</i> as part of a set of 18 papers</a> on the region's tropical forests. The special issue, which was put together by Oxford University's Yadvinder Malhi, covers a range of issues relating to the rainforests of the Congo Basin, including deforestation, the impacts of global change, the history and key characteristics of the region's forests, and resource extraction, among others.
Rhett Butler-4.17111520.823212tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/116962013-07-01T14:54:00Z2013-07-01T14:59:22ZActivists, indigenous people plan healing walk in 'sick' tar sands landscapeHundreds of activists including Bill McKibben and Naomi Klein are going into the heart of Canada's tar sands this week – not to protest the destruction of the local environment, but to pray for the 'healing' of land and the people. Native elders from all over North America will lead people past lakes of tailings wastewater and massive infrastructure of the tar sands industry along the Athabasca River in Fort McMurray, Alberta.Jeremy Hance57.074335-111.638374tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/116392013-06-24T22:13:00Z2013-06-26T18:13:38ZOver 30 tons of explosives to be detonated in Manu National Park buffer zoneA consortium of gas companies headed by Pluspetrol and including Hunt Oil plans on detonating approximately 38 tons of explosives in the south-east Peruvian Amazon in one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. The detonations are part of 2D and 3D seismic tests planned by Pluspetrol in its search for new gas deposits in the Camisea region&#8212;plans that are currently pending approval by Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM).Jeremy Hance-11.697962-71.85379tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/115842013-06-12T17:26:00Z2013-06-12T17:37:56Z11,000 barrels of oil spill into the Coca River in the AmazonOn May 31st, a landslide ruptured an oil pipeline in Ecuadorean Amazon, sending around 11,000 barrels of oil ( 420,000 gallons) into the Coca River. The oil pollution has since moved into the larger Napo River, which borders Yasuni National Park, and is currently heading downstream into Peru and Brazil. The spill has occurred in a region that is notorious for heavy oil production and decades of contamination, in addition to resistance and lawsuits by indigenous groups. Jeremy Hance-0.443569-76.997738tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/115442013-06-04T17:51:00Z2013-06-04T17:55:44ZCanadian province cancels tar sands pipeline due to environmental impactEfforts to expand production from the Alberta tar sands suffered a significant setback on Friday when the provincial government of British Columbia rejected a pipeline project because of environmental shortcomings. In a strongly worded statement, the government of the province said it was not satisfied with the pipeline company's oil spill response plans.Jeremy Hance57.562995-126.877442tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/114532013-05-20T12:27:00Z2013-05-20T12:44:12ZPeru delays oil drilling in the Amazon to consult with indigenous peoplesPeru has delayed auctioning off 27 oil blocs in the Amazon in order to conduct legally-required consultations with indigenous groups in the region, reports the Guardian. Perupetro S.A., Peru's state oil and gas company, has announced it will auction 9 blocs off the Pacific coast, but will hold auctioning off the controversial oil blocs in the Amazon rainforest at least until later this year. Jeremy Hance-10.466206-71.326905tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/114442013-05-16T15:33:00Z2013-05-16T15:39:46ZCanadian government drops over $16 million on advertising its tar sands<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/13/0516.nasa.Athabasca_oil_sands.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The Canadian government has nearly doubled its advertising spending to promote the Alberta tar sands in an aggressive new lobbying push ahead of Thursday's visit to New York by the prime minister, Stephen Harper. The Harper government has increased its advertising spending on the Alberta tar sands to $16.5m from $9m a year ago.Jeremy Hance56.96145-111.361771tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/113412013-05-02T17:17:00Z2015-03-16T03:04:35ZIs it possible to reduce the impact of oil drilling in the Amazon rainforest?<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/13/0502oilpipeline.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Oil extraction in the Amazon rainforest has been linked to severe environmental degradation &#8212; including deforestation and pollution &#8212; which in some areas has spurred violent social conflict. Yet a vast extent of the Colombian, Peruvian, Ecuadorian, Bolivian, and Brazilian Amazon is currently under concession for oil and gas exploration and production. It seems clear that much of this hydrocarbon development is going to proceed whether environmentalists and human rights groups like it or not.Rhett Butler-2.344926-76.159973tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/113282013-05-01T13:32:00Z2013-05-01T14:07:12ZTen U.S. cities pledge to kick fossil fuel investments to the curbThe cities of San Francisco and Seattle have pulled their money out of fossil fuel companies, taking a climate divestment campaign from college campuses to local government. The campaign group 350.org said on Thursday it had won commitments from a total of 10 cities and towns to divest from 200 of leading fossil fuel companies.Jeremy Hance37.740313-122.426605tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/113262013-04-30T21:49:00Z2013-04-30T21:54:19ZCitizen group finds 30 toxic chemicals in air following tar sands oil spill in Arkansas<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/13/0404.Exxon-Pipeline-Spill-Arkansas.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Independent air samples by locals have yielded "a soup of toxic chemicals" in Mayflower, Arkansas where an Exxon Mobil pipeline burst on March 29th spilling some 5,000 barrels of tar sands oil, known as bitumen. Chemicals detected included several linked to cancer, reproductive problems, and neurological impacts such as benzene and ethylbenzene. Air samples were taken by community leader and University of Central Arkansas student April Lane a day after the spill. However, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA)'s and Exxon Mobil's air samples have yielded chemical levels below harm except in the direct clean-up area, according to the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH).Jeremy Hance34.956026-92.427664tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/113072013-04-25T20:48:00Z2013-04-25T21:00:03ZTop security official in Nigeria blames climate change for worsening insecurityClimate change is in part to blame for rising conflict and crime in Nigeria, according to the president's National Security Advisor, Colonel Sambo Dasuki. Speaking to the House Committee on Climate Change, Dasuki said that the rise of Boko Haram insurgents, a jihadist group in northern Nigeria, and worsening crime was linked to climate change reports All Africa. Jeremy Hance13.00455814.325256tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/112882013-04-23T13:10:00Z2013-04-23T13:13:18ZFeatured video: Earth Day message from indigenous tribes in the Peruvian Amazon A new video by Alianza Arkana includes an Earth Day message from the indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon who are facing the existential threats of logging and fossil fuel development on their traditional lands. Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/112782013-04-22T13:24:00Z2013-04-22T13:37:50Z'Carbon bubble' could cause next global financial crisisThe world could be heading for a major economic crisis as stock markets inflate an investment bubble in fossil fuels to the tune of trillions of dollars, according to leading economists. "The financial crisis has shown what happens when risks accumulate unnoticed," said Lord (Nicholas) Stern, a professor at the London School of Economics. He said the risk was "very big indeed" and that almost all investors and regulators were failing to address it.Jeremy Hance40.707873-74.009063tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/112512013-04-17T13:09:00Z2013-04-17T16:49:40ZAt top of the world, activists say exploiting Arctic is 'utter madness'Four young explorers including American actor Ezra Miller have planted a flag on the seabed at the north pole and demanded the region is declared a global sanctuary. The expedition, organized by Greenpeace, saw the flag lowered in a time capsule that contained the signatures of nearly 3 million people who are calling for a ban on exploitation in the region.Jeremy Hance89.1897050.000587tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/111712013-04-05T17:00:00Z2013-04-06T16:56:15ZU.S. CO2 emissions fall to lowest level since 1994Carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption in the United States during 2012 fell to the lowest level since 1994, finds a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a branch of the Department of Energy.Rhett Butler38.88355-77.024002tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/111672013-04-04T18:10:00Z2013-04-04T18:16:31ZTar sands oil spill: ruptured pipe pours 200,000 gallons of oil into suburban neighborhood (photos)<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/13/0404.Exxon-Pipeline-Spill-Arkansas.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Last Saturday, an oil pipeline carrying tar sands oil from Canada ruptured in Mayflower, Arkansas spilling between 3,500-5,000 barrels of crude (at most 210,000 gallons) into neighborhood streets and lawns. Families from 22 homes have been evacuated while clean-up crews have scrambled to contain the spill. ExxonMobil, which runs the 65-year-old Pegasus pipeline, has stated it will pay for any damage, however critics say the oil spill is more evidence that the Obama Administration should turn down the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.Jeremy Hance34.956026-92.427664tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/111212013-03-26T21:51:00Z2013-03-26T22:06:43ZAfter decades of turning a blind eye, Peru declares state of emergency due to oil contamination in Amazon<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/peru/150/peru_aerial_0495.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The Peruvian government has declared an environmental state of emergency after finding elevated levels of lead, barium, and chromium in the Pastaza River in the Amazon jungle, reports the Associated Press. Indigenous peoples in the area have been complaining for decades of widespread contamination from oil drilling, but this is the first time the Peruvian government has acknowledged their concerns. Currently 84 percent of the Peruvian Amazon is covered by potential oil blocs, leading to conflict with indigenous people and environmental degradation.Jeremy Hance-2.575769-76.663313tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/110372013-03-14T04:56:00Z2013-03-18T01:30:04ZAceh claims deal to open 1.2M ha of protected forest to logging, mining is nearIndonesia's Ministry of Forestry is close to accepting a proposal to open 1.2 million hectares of forest in Aceh for mining, logging, and palm oil production, reports the <i>Aceh Post</i>.Rhett Butler5.53602895.302277tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/109372013-02-27T22:38:00Z2013-02-27T22:57:04ZShell suspends Arctic oil drilling for the yearRoyal Dutch Shell announced today that it was setting "pause" on its exploratory drilling activities in the Arctic for 2013. Shell's operations are currently under review by the federal government after the oil company suffered numerous setbacks during last year's opening attempt to drill exploratory wells in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, including running its drilling rig aground on Sitkalidak Island in southern Alaska in late December.Jeremy Hance70.281704-145.308838tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/108852013-02-18T17:23:00Z2013-02-18T17:36:21ZOver 35,000 march on Washington demanding climate action and rejection of Canada's 'carbon bomb'<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/13/0218.climate.8482873149_cc346db0be_c.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>Yesterday over 35,000 people rallied in Washington D.C. for urgent action on climate change, which, according to organizers, was the largest climate march in U.S. history. Activists called on the Obama Administration to do much more to tackle climate change, including rejecting the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would bring carbon-heavy tar sands oil from Canada through the U.S. to a world market. Jeremy Hance38.889455-77.035223tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/108572013-02-11T20:13:00Z2013-02-11T20:26:28ZFossil fuel company looking to exploit deposits in Manu National ParkPluspetrol, an Argentine oil and gas company, is eyeing a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Amazon rainforest for gas production, according to documents seen by the Guardian. Manu National Park in eastern Peru is considered one of the most biodiverse places on Earth and is home to indigenous tribes living in voluntary isolation. Jeremy Hance-12.01783-71.713486tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/107152013-01-16T20:03:00Z2015-02-09T22:22:09ZNew website tracks protected areas under attack <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/13/0116.padddtracker.Screen-Shot-2013-01-16-at-1.57.33-PM.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The struggle to safeguard wild lands and species doesn't end when a park or protected area is created. In fact, social scientists and conservationists are increasingly uncovering a global trend whereby even long-established protected areas come under pressure by industrial, governmental, or community interests. This phenomenon, recently dubbed PADDD (which stands for Protected Area Downgrading, Downsizing, and Degazettement), includes protected areas that see their legal status lowered (downgraded), lose a section of their land (downsized), or are abolished entirely (degazetted). Now, a new website from WWF seeks to track PADDD events worldwide. Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/106662013-01-10T18:59:00Z2013-01-10T19:06:24ZNGOs call on Obama Administration to suspend Arctic oil drilling after series of blundersA coalition of 17 conservation groups are calling on the Obama Administration to suspend offshore oil and gas drilling in the Arctic after Shell's attempt to drill there has been undermined by a series of mishaps. Shell's long stream of problems was capped this month when the company lost control of its drilling rig which ran aground on Sitkalidak Island in southern Alaska. Officials have now warned that up to 272 gallons of diesel fuel may have spilled from the rig's lifeboats.Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/106312013-01-02T18:26:00Z2013-01-02T18:52:18ZArctic oil rig runs agroundOn Monday night, an oil drilling rig owned by Dutch Royal Shell ran aground on Sitkalidak Island in southern Alaska, prompting fears of an oil spill. As of yesterday no oil was seen leaking from the rig according to the Coast Guard, but efforts to secure the rig have floundered due to extreme weather. The rig, dubbed Kulluk, contains over 140,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Jeremy Hance57.101198-153.218193tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/105622012-12-12T19:35:00Z2012-12-12T19:36:47ZTribes to sue Peru over planned oil expansionIndigenous groups plan to sue the government of Peru over the expansion of a oil concession they say intrudes on their native lands.Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/105402012-12-08T03:38:00Z2012-12-23T22:00:03Z108 million ha of Amazon rainforest up for oil and gas exploration, development Concessions for oil and gas exploration and extraction are proliferating across Amazon countries, reports a comprehensive new atlas of the region.Rhett Butlertag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/105272012-12-06T01:54:00Z2013-02-24T03:30:47ZDeforestation rate falls across Amazon rainforest countries <table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/peru/150/peru_aerial_1821.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The average annual rate of deforestation across Amazon rainforest countries dropped sharply in the second half of the 2000s, reports a comprehensive new assessment of the region's forest cover and drivers of deforestation. While the drop in deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has been widely reported, several other Amazon countries saw their rates of forest loss drop as well, according to the report, which was published by a coalition of 11 Latin American civil society groups and research institutions that form the Amazonian Network of Georeferenced Socio-Environmental Information (RAISG).
Rhett Butler-6.293459-52.426758tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/105232012-12-05T17:16:00Z2012-12-05T17:26:10ZWealthy nations' fossil fuel subsidies dwarf climate financing A new analysis finds that 21 wealthy countries spent five-times more on subsidizing fossil fuels in 2011 than they have on providing funds for poor nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The analysis, by Oil Change International, comes in the midst of the current UN Climate Summit held in Doha, Qatar; progress at the talks has been stymied due to the gulf between poor and rich nations, including on the issue of climate financing.Jeremy Hance25.28009251.534948tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/104492012-11-26T14:21:00Z2012-11-26T15:11:04ZUnique program to leave oil beneath Amazonian paradise raises $300 million<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/jlh/ecuador/Yasuni.150/Yasuni_409.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The Yasuni-ITT Initiative has been called many things: controversial, ecological blackmail, revolutionary, pioneering, and the best chance to keep oil companies out of Ecuador's Yasuni National Park. But now, after a number of ups and downs, the program is beginning to make good: the Yasuni-ITT Initiative has raised $300 million, according to the Guardian, or 8 percent of the total amount needed to fully fund the idea. Jeremy Hance-1.115042-75.862198tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/104392012-11-20T15:43:00Z2012-11-20T16:12:26ZOil drilling approved for national park in Belize<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/12/DSCF0065.robin.wetlands.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>The Belizean government has approved an application by US Capital Energy to drill exploratory wells for oil in the Sarstoon Temash National Park in southern Belize. The decision is believed to have been taken on November 1st by the National Environmental Assessment Committee (NEAC) of the Department of Environment, but the exact terms of the settlement have not yet been made public. The oil company, backed by US energy investment group Aspect Holdings, has applied to drill at five points in the Sarstoon Temash National Park and adjacent areas.Jeremy Hance15.944845-88.998166tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/104372012-11-19T21:58:00Z2012-11-19T22:14:46ZClimate activists march on White House again to oppose Keystone XL pipelineYesterday, climate activists marched around the White House in opposition against the Keystone XL pipeline, which if built will carry tar sands from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and an international market. The protest, which included over 3,000 people according to organizing groups, is an opening salvo in activists' battle to convince the Obama Administration to turn down the pipeline for good. Jeremy Hancetag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/103872012-11-13T17:17:00Z2015-02-09T22:13:05ZMountain gorilla population up by over 20 percent in five yearsA mountain gorilla census in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has a population that continues to rise, hitting 400 animals. The new census in Bwindi means the total population of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) has reached 880&#8212;up from 720 in 2007&#8212;and marking a growth of about 4 percent per year.Jeremy Hance-1.0232329.707169tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/103722012-11-07T18:39:00Z2012-11-07T18:54:34ZDay after Obama re-elected, group plans massive march over Keystone Pipeline and climate changeHours after President Obama's historic re-election, climate group 350.org announced a massive rally to apply pressure on the administration to reject the Keystone Pipeline, which would bring tar sands from Alberta to an international market. In 2011 the group and its partners carried out massive civil disobedience action, resulting in over 1,000 arrests, and a rally 12,000-strong that literally encircled the White House. The pressure, which was also brought to Obama campaign offices around the country, helped spur the Obama Administration to suspend the pipeline. Jeremy Hance57.023168-111.571083tag:news.mongabay.com,2005:Article/103502012-11-01T13:04:00Z2015-02-09T22:10:50ZAbove the ocean: saving the world's most threatened birds<table align="left"><tr><td><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/12/Salvin's-Albatross-landing-New-Zealand-Carl-Safina_1.150.jpg" align="left"/></td></tr></table>A life on the ocean is a perilous one for any bird. They must expend energy staying aloft for thousands of miles and learn to be marathon swimmers; they must seek food beneath treacherous waves and brave the world's most extreme climates; they must navigate the perils both of an unforgiving sea and far-flung islands. Yet seabirds, which includes 346 global species that depend on marine ecosystems, have evolved numerous strategies and complex life histories to deal with the challenges of the sea successfully, and they have been doing so since the dinosaur’s last stand. Today, despite such a track record, no other bird family is more threatened; yet it's not the wild, unpredictable sea that endangers them, but pervasive human impacts.Jeremy Hance-54.24597-36.805115